Anyone keep/kept fish?

What's Hot
TTonyTTony Frets: 27345
Outdoors varieties?

We’ve been talking about some kind of “water feature” near the patio, so we get the relaxing splish/splosh sounds of running / bubbling / splashing water when sat outside.

Or we could put in a decent sized fishpond (10’ sq?) maybe half above, half below ground, and use that as the basis of the water feature with the added interest of some fishes swimming around.

Not thinking of any exotic or expensive varieties.  Something fairly hardy.  

Anyone done one anything like that?  What to watch out for?
Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom

Comments

  • boogiemanboogieman Frets: 12314
    We used to have goldfish in our pond. A heron ate what the cat couldn’t get to. Make sure you put netting over it  ;)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • mgawmgaw Frets: 5239
    no but I have kept stum
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • MusicwolfMusicwolf Frets: 3627
    Be warned, ponds can become an obsession.

    When we moved into this house in 2001 it was the first time that I'd had a garden (previous house had a yard) so I watched all the programmes about garden design, looked through the books, drew up plans, including a modest pond,etc and went to work.  18 years on and I must be on my 4th redesign.  Each time I've had different liners (2 types of flexible and two moulded), several pumps and filters, lights, no lights, fish, no fish, fish that bred, fish that got eaten by a heron.  God knows how much I've spent on different types of water treatment.  It also landed me in A&E after trying to shift an enormous slate water feature single handed.

    I retire end of the year so I'm thinking about some major work in the garden.  I may well fill in that pond - and dig a bigger one in a different position!!!

    Gold fish are the easiest.  They'll grow quite big if they have room.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mrkbmrkb Frets: 6637
    Ive had several ponds and tropical fish tanks. It’s relaxing watching them swim around, but a fair amount of effort to maintain. You are not keeping fish you are maintaining the water environment. If the pond is well kept and hit overstocked you won’t even need to feed them,so keeping the plants from overgrowing and cleaning the sh*t filter is the main part of keeping a pond. For indoor fish, regular water change is the main task. I’ve just got rid of my tank after 20 years and the pond needs rebuilding, so I might be fish free soon.
    Karma......
    Ebay mark7777_1
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11789
    to do it properly costs a fortune, large pumps and filters can cost £600 for a set. For me, that's too much

    To get a basic pump for splashy noises would be affordable, but you still need to get AC mains to it safely, which can be expensive

    My techniques so far have been:

    Buy a large rigid, self-supporting breeders pond (rectangular, deep ones you see at aquatic shops), put it in the garden, and build a little wooden or brick wall around it.

    Build a rectangular enclosure with new sleepers (not ones saturated with creosote), and line it with pond liner, taking care to make sure the liner completely covers the top of the sleepers to stop any wood preservative leaching into the water. then put some spacers, then decking-type wood to cover around the edges

    I bought a few fish - not many given that it is passive aeration and no filtering, the shop will advise based on the size and volume of the water. 

    The herons came and ate most of them, the hardiest/fastest ones avoided being eaten and have now bred: basically goldfish and some basic colourful koi

    Tricks I use: 
    Barley straw - buy little packs from amazon or a shop, they stop the algae
    lilies and pond weed - try to get plants to cover most of the water to shade it to control algae
    Provide refuge: I got some spare plastic garage shelves, the ones with push-in legs, cut down the legs and put them in the ponds, weighted down with stones, to give the fish a place to hide from herons - I don't want netting over the pond
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • boogiemanboogieman Frets: 12314
    I don’t bother with any maintenance beyond cleaning out the pump a couple of times a year and dumping some pondweed killer in every now and then. It gets topped up with plain tap water. Ours is full of newts and we get the occasional frog. No feeding required and the newts are interesting enough to watch, well as interesting as newts can be... our cats seem to like staring at them. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11789
    it is easier to maintain a pond without fish
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • spark240spark240 Frets: 2073
    Finally filled the pond In after  many years, they’re good in the summer for the few days we get...

    better off off with a half barrel thing with a few gold fish in ..


    Mac Mini M1
    Presonus Studio One V5
     https://www.studiowear.co.uk/ -
     https://twitter.com/spark240
     Facebook - m.me/studiowear.co.uk
    Reddit r/newmusicreview 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Jimbro66Jimbro66 Frets: 2418
    When I moved into this house 7 years ago there was already a pond about 10' X 7' X 3.5' deep stocked with fish. Lovely at first but has gradually become a headache and we can't wait to be rid of it. A family member will be taking the fish (hopefully) and then the pond will go.

    As others have said, netting is unfortunately necessary to keep off cats and herons and that immediately detracts from the visual pleasure. Our pond was unfortunately sited in full sun so during the summer months algae and blanket weed can be a problem and choke up the pump, fountain and filters. Yes, we have used barley straw and various expensive chemicals but it's a battle against nature. Cleaning out all the resulting sludge is an unpleasant chore.

    Sorry to be so negative Tony because in theory having fish in a pond is attractive and relaxing but the reality is less appealing.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • I've fancied some kind of water feature in the garden. I had a little fish pond cum rockery in a previous house purely because it was there when we moved in. It had mains leccie for the pump and filters.....and I didn't mind de gunking it once a year. Want some kind of water feature now...but without the hassle of it needing mains leccie. Some fish might be nice too.

    Very small garden so thinking of using a Belfast sink rather than traditional pond. Maybe dig out soil and half/ three quarter submerge sink in soil.
    Maybe solar powered/battery run pump. Fish and filter possible later additions.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27345
    Musicwolf said:

    18 years on and I must be on my 4th redesign.  Each time I've had different liners (2 types of flexible and two moulded), several pumps and filters, lights, no lights, fish, no fish, fish that bred, fish that got eaten by a heron.  God knows how much I've spent on different types of water treatment.  
    That's the sort of knowledge/experience I was hoping to find @musicwolf!

    What are the pros  & cons of flexible vs moulded?  Any tips on pumps & filters to use?  

    mrkb said:
    Ive had several ponds and tropical fish tanks. 
    I've thought about the indoor tanks too, but it's always seemed a little unfair keeping fish in a tiny glass bowl.  Or even a large glass bowl.  Plus MrsTT has always said NO.  But I might have more luck with an outdoors one that can also combine the water feature / splishy/sploshy noises that she wants.

    We've got a couple of large ponds that seem to manage OK with plenty of oxygenator plants and pond lillies in them.  Not really needed any maintenance  other than cleaning out the leaves in autumn.

    You still need to get AC mains to it safely, which can be expensive

    Tricks I use: 
    Barley straw - buy little packs from amazon or a shop, they stop the algae
    lilies and pond weed - try to get plants to cover most of the water to shade it to control algae
    Provide refuge: I got some spare plastic garage shelves, the ones with push-in legs, cut down the legs and put them in the ponds, weighted down with stones, to give the fish a place to hide from herons - I don't want netting over the pond
    Power will be there shortly - we were going to put it out there for a water feature anyway, so the cost will be incurred whether  we put a full pond in or not.    Sleepers are a better (cheaper) idea than bricks - thanks.

    I like the refuge idea - that's got to look better than netting.  We've seen heron/s about, although there are no fish in the other ponds, so they've always gone away hungry.  Access would be a little difficult for the heron - there's hedging on one side, a fence on the other, and house on the third (all about 20-30ft away from where the pond could be, so there'll be plenty of sunlight at it.


    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11789
    Herons will find any pond
    For me, they typically come early in the morning, before any is up
    I think they fly around looking for the reflections of the sky, so I have had little trouble when there is a lot of plant cover in the pond

    I've seen all sorts of tactics on the internet: trip wires, infra red detectors triggering high-pressure water jets, etc
    Definitely worth it for those with thousands of pounds worth of koi who want to see their fish

    My fish go through a cycle of being very wary and shy, eventually just basking all day, then a few get eaten and they all start hiding properly again
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • darthed1981darthed1981 Frets: 11670
    Has anyone made a Marillion joke yet?

    How about

    "Yes, his expensive tastes nearly bankrupted me!"
    We have to be so very careful, what we believe in...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • scrumhalfscrumhalf Frets: 11262
    Only in the freezer, coated in breadcrumbs.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Emp_FabEmp_Fab Frets: 24209
    Tropicals..... in my underpants.

    Hello John.....
    Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
    Also chips are "Plant-based" no matter how you cook them.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • MusicwolfMusicwolf Frets: 3627
    TTony said:


    What are the pros  & cons of flexible vs moulded?  Any tips on pumps & filters to use?  

    With a moulded liner you basically know what sort of shape and size you will get.  Judging the final appearance of a hole in the ground is actually a lot more difficult than you'd imagine.  That said, getting a moulded pond level (which is very important) and filling in so that is properly supported is also a b****r of a job.

    If you see them digging ponds on garden makeover shows or we sites for pond supplies you'll see that they have good soil and plenty of space all around.  Real life digging through compacted clay and rubble in a tight corner isn't quite so easy.

    Pumps and filters - don't get something too small (the box / web site will tell you how many liters) and make sure that you can get at the filter for cleaning.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    The Scandanavians have a curious take on keeping fish  - they bury it in the garden...
    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
    __________________________________
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.